Kingdom Hearts III : RAY OF HOPE
by KairiU
Summary: Kairi is done with her training under Yen Sid. Anticipating the fights ahead, she can't control her nervousness. Thoughts of doom seem to cloud her sign of hope. In such dire need... maybe she could finally say the things she has been keeping from him. (My take on KH3) FILLED WITH SXK (possible matches later on)
1. Thalassa

**Kingdom Hearts III: RAY OF HOPE**

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 ** _A/N: It's driving me nuts not seeing a good KH3 fic that actually makes sense or fits into the information we have for the plot. No random OCs from the past, just some good development in the characters that CURRENTLY exists. So I decided I should do something about it._**

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My feet in the sand, for one of my many first times, I did this so often when I first had gotten to the island. Just staring out to the water, they all must of thought I was crazy.

 _"Kairi!" A young boy called my name, I was only 4 at the time. Turning around I giggled nervously, I always so scared during this time. The first person I had ever met was this boy, Sora. He found me washed up on the shore. I didn't know where I came from, but I was certainly from somewhere. At least I knew my name. "Let's go play! Quickly before the oldies say we have to go!"_

 _I nod as I see another boy in the distance, it was Riku. He is only a year older than us. Sora suddenly grabbed my hand and began running with me in tow._

 _I was completely scared. All the adults didn't know where I had came from, but a door opened for me at the Destiny Island's Mayor's home. I do call him Dad, out of appreciation, but I seriously never put my whole heart into it. He was always tied up in his work for the town._

 _Growing up, I was always around Sora and Riku. Probably why I had that "tom boy" phase... that soon passed. I did carry parts of that personality with me, but ever since I did lose my memory of my best friends... the other girls at school started to grow on me, especially Selphie._

"Kairi."

 _I really didn't know what to expect when I gained my memories, but once they did I felt extremely guilty. How could I have forgotten... just like my hometown._

"Kairi!" I jumped almost out of my seat. Looking forward, away from the window of the Gummi Ship, Riku was looking at me with concern. "Did you hit your head or something during today's training or what?"

"What..?" Clueless to what was happening. "I was just spacing out."

"Alright... Well we're back home." He turned back around, "We'll be landing on the island this time, the Thalassa Festival is happening on the main island's docking area."

Already? I guess summer is here... That was quick, though it was never before. It only felt like yesterday that Summer ended and I had that vision of Roxas in my head... I'm rarely in school, so that must be why.

The ship slowly reached the sands of our island. The exit door opened as warmth hit me, I didn't want to get out of my seat. The main pilot had gotten out of his seat and walked over to stand in front of me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"You did great with your training, Kairi. If we were to have trained Sora and Riku properly like that, who knows how strong of wielders they could be." The King lets go of my shoulder and turns to Riku.

"Is that supposed to be a insult, King?" Riku smirked as he crossed his arms. I giggled.

"Well its more of a apology."

Riku knelled down in front of the King. "Don't beat yourself up over something you couldn't control."

I walked forward and gave Mickey a hug from behind. "Yeah, you did way more then enough."

"Gosh, guys. Thanks." He smiled, genuinely.

"We'll see you soon; once Sora, Donald, and Goofy return." Riku stood.

We exited the King's ship and waved back at him as the ship rose above the palm trees and flew out of our world. Sighing, I looked down at the sand. The familiar aura calmed me for a moment. Last time we left the islands, it was on the main... so that meant Riku and I's boats were at the docks on the main island. Luckily Sora had left from Destiny Islands on his team's Gummi Ship, so his was still there... alone.

"Hey, lets go see whats left of the festival." Riku said softly, reassuring me.

I smiled, "Yeah, lets go."

It was midnight by the time I got home. We decided to stay to watch the fireworks. I sincerely wished Sora was there to experience it all with us. The meaning of the festival really didn't give me much more of a reason to forget him. The whole festival started back when the fishermen had left the Island and the town threw a gathering for the lonesome and worried families. Hoping for a safe return.

As my lucky charm was inspired by so many others.

But now I was again, the one home, curled up in my bed. Everything in my being wished he was okay, and that he would just come home now. Interfering would probably only make the wait longer.

...

I woke to hear knocking on my door. I groggily got up and looked at my clock. It was already 8 in the morning. God, what ever it was it better be important.

I walked to the door, grabbed the door handle, and swung it open with enough force to show how annoyed I was. "What is so important at this hour?"

"Kairi."

"Riku? What are you doing here? I thought you'd sleep in today."

"Yeah, I wish." He brought up his hand close to me, holding something in it. I stared at him for a moment.

"Uh..?"

"Here." I raised up both of my hands together, "I swear you two are exactly the same, sometimes."

Dropping it into my hands I soon felt my heart begin to race. "Y-you don't mean..?"

Smiling back, Riku nodded. "Yeah."

I ran past Riku without even thinking.

Not even thinking of how hideous I looked, I was rushing down the stairs in my old white tank top and a pair of light purple shorts. Sounds of chatter began to clear and I knew

it, I just knew it. My heart couldn't take anymore, I was so sick of waiting to see him everyday...

So sick of being away from him.

So sick of being left behind.

So sick of being a memory.

A small duck raised his voice, "Sora! Stop eating all the snacks! You're embarrassing yourself in front of the Mayor!"

"Ah, come on Donald. I haven't eaten anything proper in days..!"

They could hear as my steps had stopped against the hard-wooded flooring behind the long couch. My father had smiled as the trio had turned around. I was out of breath, so this made my whole face turn even redder once he looked at me directly for what seems to be months.

"Kairi..." His emotion turned from surprise to fits of laughter. I almost turned as red as my own hair.

"W-whats so funny?!" He continued to laugh.

"You just look so angry!" He couldn't control it.

"Well..." I really wasn't mad but I decided to cover up my nervousness with his terrible read on emotions. "Yeah! You show up unannounced, and now I have... nothing prepared!" Riku had now just got off the stairs, as he leaned against one of the support beams of the house behind me.

"Yeah.. Sorry about that." Sora, wiping a tear from his eye, stood up to face us both. "We kind of needed to see you guys immediately." He took a deep breath as I noticed he grew a few inches taller... His black shorts had begun to look like they've shrunk.

"Oh." I held onto the lucky charm a bit tighter this time.

"You see... Donald, Goofy, and I were supposed to gather information upon where the other two keyblade wielders are, as we know where Terra is currently."

"We knew that, Sora." Riku broke his silent pause.

"Yeah... but the thing is. Kairi is probably our best bet to getting Aqua."

Confused, I laughed. "But... how? I can't possibly help with that."

"Remember when Axel... sorry, Lea had taken you through portals of darkness?"

"Yes?"

"Well you're one of the only people who can even walk through the portal without a single shred of darkness engulfing you..." His head slowly turn to the ground. "We have no other way of getting into there. Riku doesn't have his cloak anymore and if Axel is in the dark for too long, they will find him immediately."

I didn't know what to say, but that I was extremely nervous.

"He really didn't want to come to this conclusion. But, gwarsh, from all the information we gathered, this seems to be the only option." Goofy patted Sora on his back.

"I..." Sighing, I knew it was probably the only way. And now here is my chance to prove that I could pull my own in our team. "I'll do it." I turned to the stairs and pass Riku as Sora's head swung up. Probably thinking I would be a coward... I wish he would stop protecting me so much. I'm not just a weak princess.

"Th-that is great, but..." He stopped himself once he noticed I wasn't stopping in my tracks. I walked up the steps and into my room. I threw on my pink, zip up dress, and side pouch, sliding my lucky charm into it.

Knowing a gutting feeling in me, that this could possibly kill me... I shook my head once that thought came into my mind. "No time to be selfish... how many times has everyone sacrificed for me?"

I walked down stairs to reunite with everyone once again.

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 ** _Aaaannndd thats it for this chapter! I will update as soon as possible. I honestly would like to see if anyone enjoyed this for the start. I am open to criticism, so please review! Thanks._**


	2. Corridors of Darkness

**Kingdom Hearts III: RAY OF HOPE**

 _Chapter 2:_ Corridors of Darkness

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 **EDIT: I had messed up a few times, and I appreciate the positive criticism. Here is a revised version of the chapter.**

 **x**

We reached the beach where the Gummi Ship landed, there had been some people to stop to look, but once they had noticed our presence they soon backed away from the ship.

Donald grumbled under his breath about the residence being too close to the ship, in a way that no one would probably want to hear.

"Well, here we are." Sora pushed a button and opened the entrance to the ship.

"Kairi." I turned to see my Father's worried gaze.

"Dad, I'll be okay." I gave him a genuine smile and pulled into a tight hug.

Pausing for a moment, "Alright, well if everyone is done with their goodbyes." Donald looked at all of us.

"Did you even go back to see your parents, Sora?" Speaking out of concern, Riku then continues. "Sion and Dominique are worried sick."

"Yes, Sora. The Barzahds would appreciate it if you stopped by." My Father cleared his throat.

"That was the first thing I did when we got here. I really needed a shower." Sora laughed off the question quickly, then turned to me. "Ready?"

"Yeah." I waved back to my father and walked towards the ship, as so did everyone else.

"Good luck, and please take care of her!" My father yelled back to Sora. He nodded in return as the hatch to the entrance closed.

 **x**

I didn't know how I was connected to Aqua, but the King had told me so during my training. I knew there had to be a reason then just us being 'connected'. I had to find out more, and this was the perfect opportunity to find out.

By this time we were already standing in front of Yen Sid in his quarters. He explained to me what my mission was and went over several tips of my training. I got a bit annoyed with how everyone was showing their worried emotions, I mean, I should be the one terrified and yet here I am trying to prove myself to them.

But I was terrified.

"All set?" Goofy patted me on my back.

"As I'll ever be."

"One more thing, Kairi." Yen Sid broke the conversation.

"Yes?" I gulped, unintentionally.

"The fairies in the other room would like to help you out by giving you some... persay, stylish, clothing that also protects you from the effects from the Corridors of Darkness into the deep realm, just in case of anything. Just like the those cloaks, but well... Suitable for you." Yen Sid sighed then said in a lower tone; "To fight heartless, style should be the last thing on your minds. But yet here we are."

The three fairies opened the door, as Merryweather grunted,"You don't have to be such a stick in the bush, sir!"

"Ah, yes! Clothes are a girl's best friend!" Flora, dressed in red, had praised. She flew behind me and showed me the way behind the doors.

"You boys seem to be in dire need of a outfit change as well!" Fauna preached and swung behind Riku, "Lets fix that right away!"

"Oh indeed!" Merryweather grabbed a corner of Sora's vest and tugged him along also.

"Okay girls, now we have a prime opportunity right here. Instead of fighting over a style, we have three test subjects!"

"Test subjects..?" Sora said concerned.

"Yes, the last time we did this, we had continuously fought over the color and style of outfit for your recent journey! So this ought to leave us at bay." Fauna clasped her hands together.

"I call Sora!" Merryweather protested.

"That's fine because I wanted to work on Riku, those green eyes complement you well!" Fauna smiled.

"Perfect, I can work on someone who appreciates the color pink!" Flora smiled at me.

I just hope everything turns out okay.

"Okay, girls, on my lead. And don't mess these ones up!" Flora counted down and as soon as they flicked their wands, white had filled the room and within seconds we were all appeared in new clothing.

For instance, Riku was in a plain white shirt with a black short sleeved vest that had a hood, along with black pants and steel colored shoes. Very casual.

As for Sora, he was decked out in black and red. He bared a black V neck shirt with a vest, as well, over it. It seemed to be styled in buttons and a small collar in plaid then branched out into a red hood. His gloves had grown longer to about his mid arm, as his shoes stayed yellow with mostly black. He seemed more darker and harder to approach then Riku... It didn't feel right.

And for me? Well, I still bore pink but it was more of a darker tint. It seemed to be a dress that reached to the same as my old one, along with a black line following the edges of the zipper. I wore shorts underneath and a tank top that had a red ribbon texture stripe to it. I also had a hood that appeared to have ears attached to them.

I turn and look at Flora and question, "Uh... care to explain?"

"Oh, my dear-"

"Kairi, you look great!" I heard Sora say in a high tone. He stood in front of me, with a big smile on his face. I forgot about everything in a instant.

"Well, we should get her to where she is needed." Riku approached the door.

"Ah! I have one more thing." Merryweather asked me.

"Yes?" I was still overly nervous about this.

"Shouldn't you cut your hair a tad? I mean, you will be fighting a lot. Your hair probably will get in the way."

"O... oh" I touched a stand of my hair. "I just grew this out, it wasn't long ago it was short."

"Then you'll be fine to adapt to it, won't you?"

"I suppose." I braced myself for the wand to flicker at me. As it did my hair was shorter, just barely touching my shoulders.

"All done!"

"Okay, we should be going now." I told the girls. I waved to them as so did the rest of us, one more enthusiastic then the others.

Riku walked ahead as Sora grabbed my wrist. "Huh?" I turned my body half away to face him, I spoke through stumbles "So-Sora? What's up?"

"You dropped this." He let go of my wrist and handed me my lucky charm.

Wait! I just had this, where did I drop it? I looked up at him, noticing a different look in his blue eyes. "Where was it?"

"When we were walking up the steps to Yen Sid's study, it fell out of your pocket." He smiled.

"I guess it was time for some new gear." Looking at the ground, I giggled slightly.

"Guess so..." Soon his smile faded. "Kairi, now it's your turn." He grabbed the hand that held the charm.

My gaze met his, if no one was around I would of just kissed him right there... but I couldn't. I was scared on top of everything else. The place and time is so off!

"That charm is something a special person lent to me. So make sure you bring it back." He paused, "Promise?"

Remembering the time we were under Traverse Town, I laughed. "Promise."

"Alright... and don't ever forget... where ever you go, I'm always with you." His smiled widened, grinning, then he started laughing also.

"Okay love birds, times a' wasting!" Donald yelled over at us. We both stepped away from each other, embarrassed then quickly approached Yen Sid's desk and waited for a queue. Shaking, knowing that it was about time for me to hop into a portal to the realm of darkness without anyone. A princess of light completely at will to darkness. Yet I was brave enough to fend for myself, I could never tell what could happen in a instant. I held on tightly to my charm and shoved it in my pocket.

"Riku, you still know how to open the Corridor to the realm, correct?" Yen Sid broke my train of thought.

Riku nodded and without hesitation, opened the portal. Everyone looked at me with different types of worry. The one who stood out the most was Sora. He couldn't look me in the eyes directly. He seemed more hurt than anything.

"Kairi, if it comes to extremes, then please press that button on the communicator will signal a distress and we will send back up immediately to your location. Remember, doing this will cause the 13 Darkness's to find us quicker, especially in cloaks, so please stay aware of your surroundings. Once you have found Aqua, be aware. She has been in darkness for quite some time."

"I understand." I grabbed the communicator off the desk and placed it in my other pocket without my charm. I sighed before stepping towards the Corridor. I through my hood on and waved to everyone. "I'll be back soon, wish me luck guys."

At that, the darkness roamed around me quickly into the Realm of Darkness. My eyes revealed a path, with cores of darkness on the edges of it. The ground was covered in sand. I didn't know what to expect but I decided my best bet was to keep going.

Along the way, few heartless showed up, which was not a big concern, but it was less then I was expecting. I eliminated them, and kept on going.

As I soon as I passed through another battle, I reached a place that had no further path. A place that ended with a shore with a big ball of light beyond the waters. I sighed. Not exactly pleased with a dead end. I was about to turn back but soon a voice broke the silence.

"You're Kairi, right?" A women's voice, "It's been a long time."

I noticed she was sitting on a log. Looking out to the water.

"You... you know my name?"

"Don't you? I told you who I was before."

"I... I do but, we never met before, Aqua." I placed my hand over my heart. It was scared, I was scared.

"I can recognize your light. It is still as powerful as ever." She motioned me to come forward. "I don't bite."

I approached her, hesitantly. Reminding myself what everyone warned me for. But I un-summoned my keyblade, knowing I was risking extremes now, but I just needed to get her out of here.

"Aqua, have you been consumed by the darkness completely..?" I sat next to her, noticing her features. She appeared tired, with a hint of sadness. Otherwise, she seemed fine. Nothing was strange about her.

"Just once, I was about to give up and fall into the darkness. But after that, Mickey had saved me... The light brought me here." She turned to me smiling, "I'm so glad to see you again. I knew you were special."

"I... I suppose." I still didn't understand where I had met her before.

"So your world had succumb to darkness."

"Ah... well. I never knew, I mean... completely forgot my old world." I know that Destiny Islands had also been lost to darkness once, but since I didn't remember meeting Aqua, I must of met her before then.

"Oh, so once you had been taken to a new world you must of lost all memory, your body probably couldn't handle it all."

"I..." I really wouldn't know.

"Kairi, I met you in Radiant Garden. I had cast a spell on your necklace when you were younger. Once you were in danger, you'd be sent to someone who could protect you. That necklace you're wearing is the same one from the past."

"Oh..." I touched the necklace with the tips of my fingers. "I kept it because it truly felt special to me."

"I'm glad it did." She stood up, "I know in the Realm of Darkness time is slower. I was almost shocked to see you all grown... But yet I reminded myself it probably has been 10 years since I have been trapped here." She walked towards the water.

"So... my old world is Radiant Garden?" Mumbling to myself, I thought of the place, hearing stories from Sora meeting up with the old gang I met back in Traverse Town. I wish to see them, and my home world. Now that I know that we shared the same home world as well.

"I need you to do something." I looked at her.

"What is it, Aqua?"

"I need you to touch this water." She turned to me. "I believe there is a way though the light that can guide us out of here."

I looked at the water. Approaching it and reaching down to touch I felt darkness soon creep up my hand, I pulled away instantly.

"Wh-what?! Why!" I looked at her in shock.

"Kairi, that spell is not broken." She pointed to my necklace. "You have more then once used the spell."

"When?"

"I can sense that your heart has traces of recovery." A 14 year old Sora popped into my head. "Your spell can bring us to him once again."

"You know Sora?"

"Yes I do." Her stance remained, "Now please, there isn't time to explain. We must go now, time is much slower and if we risk anymore-"

"Okay, okay." I grabbed her hand this time and reached down to the waters. Feeling the sensation creep up my arm now my necklace had beamed and suddenly a door of light opened in front of us, looking at each other and nodding in agreement we entered the door filled with light.

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 _ **That is it for now! Hope you guys enjoyed!**_

 _ **Sorry if it seemed rushed;;**_

 _ **By the way, the whole thing with Sora's parents; I want it to be Sion and Dominique from The Bouncer. Though I never played it before, I read up on it and they would be a perfect fit for his parents. You guys should look it up!**_

 _ **Please leave a review, I am completely open to positive criticism.**_

 _ **(SPOILERS: Yes I know that Kaldea was Sion's first love but she dies, I would think that maybe it would be kept the same in the KH verse. I would love to see them involved in the games, it has been hinted by Pence's clothes. But honestly if you look at how he develops around Dominique, just how he opens up to her. BTW the ending with her hugging him for wearing her pendant is the cutest.)**_


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